Hamilton v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

• Court: United States Court of Federal Claims
• Decided: February 17, 2026
• Docket: 20-0062V
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

In the United States Court of Federal Claims OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS No. 20-62V Filed: January 20, 2026

* * * * * * * * * * * * * LAURA HAMILTON, * parent of D.H., a minor, * * Petitioner, * * * v. * * SECRETARY OF HEALTH * AND HUMAN SERVICES, * * Respondent. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ronald C. Homer, Esq., Conway, Homer, P.C., Boston, MA, for petitioner. Rachelle Bishop, Esq., US Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.

DECISION ON JOINT STIPULATION1

Roth, Special Master:

On January 21, 2020, Laura Hamilton filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. 2 Petitioner alleges that her minor child D.H. developed transverse myelitis (“TM”) as a result of the Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular-Pertussis (“DTaP”), hepatitis B (“Hep B”), haemophilus influenzae (“Hib”), inactivated polio (“IPV”), pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus vaccinations he received on February 15, 2017. Stipulation, filed January 20, 2026, at ¶¶ 1-4. Respondent denies that any of the aforementioned immunizations caused petitioner’s injury. Stipulation at ¶ 6.

1 Because this Decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action taken in this case, it must be made publicly accessible and will be posted on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website, and/or at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscourts/national/cofc, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2018) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services). This means the Decision will be available to anyone with access to the internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), Petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review, I agree that the identified material fits within this definition, I will redact such material from public access. 2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-660, 100 Stat. 3755. Hereinafter, for ease of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subparagraph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa (2018).

1 Nevertheless, the parties have agreed to settle the case. On January 20, 2026, the parties filed a joint stipulation 3 agreeing to settle this case and describing the settlement terms. Respondent agrees to issue the following payment:

a. A lump sum of $14,041.43, which amount represents compensation for past unreimbursable expenses, to be paid through an ACH deposit to petitioner's counsel's IOLTA account for prompt disbursement to petitioner;

b. A lump sum of $9,468.37, representing reimbursement of a South Dakota Department of Social Services Medicaid lien for services rendered on behalf of D.H., in the form of a check payable jointly to petitioner and

South Dakota Department of Social Services Attn: Brittany McDonald 700 GOVERNORS DRIVE PIERRE, SD 57501-2291 Debt ID#: 000409694 Medicaid ID #: 001322657

Petitioner agrees to endorse this check to the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

c. An amount of $135,000.00 to purchase the annuity contract described in paragraph 10 of the stipulation, paid to the life insurance company from which the annuity will be purchased (the "Life Insurance Company").

These amounts represent compensation for all damages that would be available under § 300aa-15(a).

I adopt the parties’ stipulation attached hereto, and award compensation in the amount and on the terms set forth therein. The clerk of the court is directed to enter judgment in accordance with this decision. 4

IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/ Mindy Michaels Roth Mindy Michaels Roth Special Master

3 The stipulation was filed with petitioner’s signature completed via Adobe Acrobat Sign (electronic verification). To avoid the unnecessary disclosure of petitioner’s personal information, the Adobe Acrobat Sign form has been omitted from this decision. 4 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by each party filing a notice renouncing the right to seek review. 2